The Dubbo community has been praised for its part in helping more than 2000 people in remote Vanuatu gain access to eye care through charitable organisation Onesight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Local optometrist Carina Ng raised more than $2500 through her recent ‘Shave for Sight, Run for Sight’ fundraiser, which saw her tackle the Rhino Ramble marathon while husband Kelvin Chan and friend Henry D’Oliveiri had their heads shaved.
Ms Ng then travelled to Vanuatu for a Onesight clinic, where she and fellow volunteers saw 2192 patients, prescribed and dispensed 208 pairs of glasses in just one week.
“It was a clinic where we saw the neediest people … [who] if they needed cataract surgery, they couldn’t access it and would have to settle for going blind,” she said.
“There’s a big sense of pride in seeing the [Dubbo] community come and support this cause and just to create awareness about how important vision is … how we can take it for granted [and] … how we can help people less fortunate than us.
“Thanks for all the support – financial and moral – that we received from the community.”
Also making news: 2018 DREAM Festival lantern parade sees record numbers to Dubbo event
The pilot was Onesight’s first clinic outside Australia and New Zealand, and involved 16 volunteers including four optometrists.
They began with three days at local schools in Port Villa, before travelling to an under-privileged community called Black Sands where they serviced mostly adults.
One woman, Dollie Kalkot was prescribed glasses, which have since been made specifically to her prescription and delivered to her in Black Sands.
“The local people were really happy to receive care,” Ms Ng said.
“Some of the children had never seen foreigners before, people of a different coloured skin tone, different culture, so they were excited to have that interaction with us as well.
Read more: Don't take sight for granted
“I’m grateful for these opportunities as well to step outside a comfortable office, where healthcare is accessible, to going to a place where you have to adapt to an environment with minimal equipment and minimal resources.”
